It may only be March, but SNP Work and Pensions spokesman, John Mason MP, is urging householders to avoid falling into another Farepak Christmas trap and start saving now.

Highlighting an advice campaign initiated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the Glasgow East SNP MP is encouraging those struggling with household bills to start saving.

Mr Mason has tabled an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons supporting the sensible saving scheme which helps people economise for Christmas without taking out loans or using credit cards.

Mr Mason said: "It may only be March, but we have to do everything we can to prevent another Christmas crisis.

"It’s more than two years since the Farepak collapse but this nightmare of Christmas past still looms large, and in the current economic climate, with job losses and uncertainty, the OFT’s scheme has some sensible suggestions.

"Many Farepak families are still struggling to find their feet but, while the UK Government rushed to bail out the banks, these savers have not seen a penny of compensation.

"By signing up for schemes like the Save Xmas campaign, households will be doing all they can to prevent another festive nightmare.

"It’s simply shocking that the Farepak families are still waiting for compensation all these years later. It was failure of regulation that led to this scandal and Gordon Brown’s Government has a clear obligation to help these hard pressed families."

Notes:

John Mason’s Save Xmas Campaign EDM states:

That this House supports the Office of Fair Trading Save Xmas campaign which was established in response to the Farepak collapse and encourages households to start saving now for Christmas 2009; welcomes the campaigns sensible advice for savers at a time of economic uncertainty, with jobs at risk and poor interest rates; expresses continued concern that victims of the Farepak Christmas collapse in 2006 are still waiting to receive compensation.

Further details of the OFT Save Xmas campaign can be found here.